One of the pieces of hockey history that links the Buffalo Sabres and Maple Leafs is they were two of the four NHL clubs for whom the great Tim Horton once skated.

BUFFALO-One of the pieces of hockey history that links the Buffalo Sabres and Maple Leafs is they were two of the four NHL clubs for whom the great Tim Horton once skated.

Horton's No.7 hangs high in the rafters at the Air Canada Centre.

And at the HSBC Arena a white banner flutters over the home team's bench, commemorating the 124 games for which Horton wore No.2 for the Sabres before dying in a tragic QEW car crash on Feb. 21, 1974, after a game at Maple Leaf Gardens between the Leafs and Sabres.

Horton, not a tall man, was legendary for his strength, particularly his upper body. So perhaps there was a whiff of coincidence in the air last night as a similarly built young man, 25-year-old Jaime Sifers, may have muscled his way into the NHL for a lengthy stay while skating for the Leafs in the Buffalo rink in which Horton's name is immortalized.

The 5-foot-11 Sifers – listed at 210 pounds but a self-confessed shade over 200 pounds – was signed as a free agent out of the University of Vermont by former Leafs general manager John Ferguson in the summer of 2006. Until he played his first NHL game on Monday against the New York Islanders, Sifers had gone unnoticed as a stay-at-home defenceman with the AHL Marlies.

Last night, though, he was given the responsibilities of a grizzled veteran, allotted 21 minutes and nine seconds of ice time by Leafs head coach Ron Wilson while playing a punishing role in the club's 2-1 comeback victory over the hometown Sabres.

Only Jeff Finger played more, while big money vets Pavel Kubina and Tomas Kaberle played significantly less. Sifers played almost five minutes when the Leafs were shorthanded, and it was a key penalty kill early in the third with Lee Stempniak off serving a double minor for high-sticking that probably won the game for the Leafs.

Sifers caught everyone's attention with huge hits on Henrik Tallinder and Adam Mair in the third.

"I'm a small guy, and I've got to make up for it by playing physically," he said afterward. "I think I've been pretty patient, waiting for my chance."

Wilson said he had been keeping an eye on Sifers with the Marlies ever since a former player of his with the San Jose Sharks, forward Torrey Mitchell, had twigged him to the young defender's potential.

Mitchell, a teammate of Sifers at the University of Vermont, broke his leg in training camp this fall. When Wilson called to offer sympathy, Mitchell made sure to tell the Leaf coach about his college buddy.

"He told me: `You're going to love this guy,'" said Wilson. "`If you get a chance, get him in there.'"

Sifers almost got his opportunity during the Leafs' recent western road swing, but didn't dress and was demoted again. When freshman defenceman Luke Schenn went down with a knee injury last Saturday, however, the Connecticut native was recalled and given No.59 to wear.

He laughed when told Mitchell had played a role in keeping him on Wilson's radar.

"We joked about it during the summer," he said. "We went to school together and we're still really close."

Two games, of course, does not a career make, and the comparisons between Sifers and the great Horton should, of course, stop at their similar body builds – Horton actually weighed only about 180 – and the fact both got their first shot at the NHL with the Leafs, albeit 58 years apart.

So unless Sifers really likes an old-fashioned glazed with his double-double in the morning, enough of the Horton talk.

But in a Leaf season that's all about re-positioning the team for the future, it would be good luck indeed if the club unearthed a nugget (timbit?) it barely knew it owned.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.